By P. Vijian, NNN-Bernama,
New Delhi : India’s Railway Minister Lalu Prasad will arrive in Malaysia next week to seal the long-standing RM4 billion double-tracking project with Malaysian authorities.
The Malaysian government has awarded the construction of the Seremban-Gemas electrified double-tracking project to the Indian Railway Construction Corporation (IRCON) last year.
The 60-year-old minister, the first-ever Indian Railway Minister to visit Malaysia, will witness the signing of the deal on May 15, slated during his two-day visit to Kuala Lumpur.
“The minister will be visiting Malaysia next week mainly for the signing of the double-tracking project agreement between Malaysia’s KTMB and IRCON,” a senior officer of the ministry told Bernama.
Prasad became a political celebrity in India after he pulled out the Indian railways from financial quagmire six years ago and is now chanting his mantras on ways to economically manage public railway systems, while postgraduate students queue to hear his management secrets.
Prior to his arrival to Malaysia, Prasad will arrive in Singapore on May 11, where he is expected to lecture about 350 Master of Business Administration (MBA) students at the Institut Europeen d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD) Asia campus.
In a related development, the Special Central Bureau of Investigation court on Monday had released the minister’s passport for his official visit to Malaysia and Singapore.
Prasad’s passport has been in court’s custody since 1997 pending investigation of a fodder scam case but the minister was allowed to travel overseas three times since then.